Clothespin



y 1940. M, R. KISLINGBURY ET AL 7 CLOTHESPIN Filed Jan. 9, 1939INVENTORS.

Patented July 30, 1940- UNITED STATES CLOTHESPIN Maud Handel Kislingbnryand Edna Emma Range, Alta, Iowa Application January 9, 1939, Serial Nomans 1 Claim. (ct 24-44) The principal object of this invention is toprovide a clothespin which may be attached to the clothes line by meansindependent of its jaw portions.

A further object of our invention is to provide a clothespin havingresilient serrated jaw elements for securely gripping the clothes orlike.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a clothespinwhich may be left permanently on a clothes line and the clothes clampedthereto on which may be attached to the clothes and then strung on theline.

A still further object of our invention is to provide a clothespin thatis economical in manufacture, durable and efilcient in use.

These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Our invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combinationof the various parts of the device, whereby the objects contemplated areattained as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in our claimand illustrated in the accomp ny n drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of our clothespin ready for use.

i 2 is a side elevational view of our clothespin more fully illustratingits construction.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the clothespin taken onthe line 3-3 of Fig. 1

Fig. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the rubber jaw inserts used onour clothespin.

Fig. 5 is anenlarged side sectional view of a modified form of structureof our pin showing one of the clips stampedfrom the metal body of theclothespin.

Fig. 6 is a side view of our clothespin. using the modified form ofstructure shown in Fig. 5.

There are many types of ciothespins now on the market. With all of thesetypes, however,

it is necessary to place the clothes on the line and then pin them tothe line with the pin.

Also the pins must be completely removed from the line each time theclothes are removed. This is very unsatisfactory due .to the factthat it5 is necessary to hold the pins in one hand while at the same timeholding the clothes. This procedure increases the work attending thehanging of clothes and similaritems on a line. Furthermore, it is easyto drop the pins into the dirt and these clothespins are otherwiseextremely unhandy. Wehave overcome such disadvantages as willbehereinafter more fully set forth.

Referring to the drawing, we have used the numeral l0 to designate oneof the channel frame members or jaw elements of our pin havingintegrally formed thereon a handle portion 1 II and ears I2 as shown inthe drawing,

The numeral l3 designates a. similar channel frame member or jawelementhaving thereon a handle portion l4 and ears IS. The ears [5 aredepressed so that they may fit adjacent the inner surfaces of the earsand the two arms are then held in pivotal alignment by a shaft IS in theusual manner. We have used the numeral ll to designate a spring coiledabout the shaft l6 and having its end portions ll' bearing against 10the inside of the handles H and H as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1 ofthe drawing. The numerals I8 and I9 indicate two blocks of rubber'orother resilient material which are crimped into the channel members l0and I3 respectively as shown in the drawing. These resilient blocks l8and I 9 have their inner, adjacent faces serrated so as to'form agripping surface as shown. We have used the numeral 20 to designate aspring clip element having one end rigidly secured to the handle portionII and its open end extending toward the channel jaw portions of theclothespin. The numeral 2| indicates a similar spring clip memberrigidly secured to the handle member it. I have designated a clothesline or like by the numeral 22. Referring to Fig. 5 of the drawing, itwill be noted that a clip 2! may be stamped from and integrally with thehandle portion ll, thus reducing the number of parts necessary in theconstruction of the clothespin.

In practicaluse our clothespin is extremely versatile. Either of theclips Hand 2! may be clipped onto the clothes line and the user may 85then slide the pin to the desired position. The handles H and H are"then pressed together so that the clothes may be clamped between theresilient faces l8 and iii. The pin may be left permanently on the line22, may be strung on two parallel lines so that the pin is always in a40 vertical position, or the pins may be clamped onto the clothing orlike and then the clothespin clipped onto the line. For instance, theuser may attach the goods to the clothes in the house and then it isonly necessary to clip either of the clips 20 or 2! onto the line. Theseclothespins may be utilized in drying film, pictures, art

a clothespin that fulfills all of our objects and presents many moreobvious advantages. Our clothespin is rugged, may be easily cleansed, isunbreakable and does not snag or injure clothes or the like.

Obviously, our clothespin may be constructed with but one of the clipsthereon but for convenience and versatility, we have used two of theclips.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of ourimproved clothespin without departing from the real spirit and purposeof our invention, and it is our intention to cover by' our claim anymodified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents which maybe reasonably included within its scope.

We claim:

In a clothespin, an elongated channel frame member, a handle memberintegrally formed on one end of said channel frame member, a secondelongated channel frame member, a handle member integrally formed on oneend of said second channel frame member, ears integrally formed on eachof said channel frame members, a means for pivotally securing the earson said first and said'second mentioned channel frame members channelframe member, and clipping elements stamped and integrally formed fromthe center portions of each of said handle members.

" MAUD RANDEL KISLINGBURY.

EDNA EMMA RUNGE.

